The Australian prop was at the heart of his side’s forward battle as Huddersfield destroyed Hull KR 50-16 at the Galpharm.

He will again be expected to lead from the front this weekend as the Giants seek a fifth win of the season to close in on Super League’s top six.

And he’s confident victory can be achieved to gain revenge for a home defeat at the hands of the Dragons just six weeks ago

“We felt pretty hard done by that night,” reflected the experienced 31-year-old former Australian NRL Grand Final winner.

“We know we didn’t play that well, but we felt we more than matched them and Catalans only got the better of us because of a couple of lucky bounces.

“Myself and the rest of the Huddersfield pack felt we won the battle in the forwards – in fact, I don’t think there’s been a game this season when we’ve been dominated down the middle – and that’s something we’ve talked about.

“Even though Catalans have a very tough, physical pack and they’re guaranteed to be fired-up at home, we know we do have the beating of them.

“We laid a fantastic platform against Hull KR last week and I’m sure that performance will do wonders for our confidence.

“I don’t think we’ve played that badly all year, it’s just that the ball’s not been bouncing for us and we’ve been on the end of some pretty tough calls.

“But everything came together last weekend and we showed what we can do when things go for us rather than against us.

“I thought it was a tremendous team performance and, if we can maintain that level of form, there’s no reason at all why we can’t make the play-offs again.”

Skandalis went into the Hull KR clash boosted by the news that his good friend and former Wests Tigers teammate Brett Hodgson will be joining the Giants for the start of next season.

The NRL full-back, who has played in six State of Origin games, has signed a two-year deal, and Skandalis believes he will rapidly become a firm fans’ favourite.

“The Giants are getting a fantastic player, and when I’d heard he was definitely coming it gave me a huge lift,” added Skandalis, who at this stage is not ruling out extending his stay at the Galpharm when his current contract expires at the end of the season.

“Although he’s not the biggest player in the world, he’s incredibly skilful and is a player capable of changing a game. He’s a massive signing for us.”